"At 3:00 am (0100 GMT), the Israeli army entered the television station's office and took all the transmitters, and the station is now unable to broadcast," he said.

The Israeli army had no immediate comment on the reported raids, and it was unclear what prompted them. No arrests were made, employees said.

"One of our guards tried to stop the army, but they told him they had official orders to close the station," Daraghmeh said.

Orabi said: "It was a surprise. We still don't know why they confiscated the equipment and shut down the station, even though we work in areas belonging to the Palestinian Authority and we have a licence from them." Journalists said they would hold a demonstration in Ramallah's central square later on Wednesday to protest against the raid.